Final Fantasy: Vincent's Third Disc

Part 1

The summer of 2002 was a great summer for me. I was a few months away from turning 15, I had just finished my freshman year of high school, and was starting to really come into who I was as a teenager. My mother had bought me my first drum set the Christmas before, and that February my brother Zach got his first bass guitar. When my friend Josh got a guitar that May, we spent our summer practicing with our first band. The summer of 2002 was definitely a summer of firsts, because it was also the first time I ever kissed a girl (I was a late-bloomer, I know), and the first time I ever played Final Fantasy VII.

After beating it right before starting my sophomore year of high school, Final Fantasy quickly became my new favorite video game series. I would spend my money from my job buying every Final Fantasy title I could. My love of Final Fantasy, music, and my unique sense of style were a few of the main things that I identified with in high school.

Ten years had passed. I was definitely not the adult that I had hoped to be by this age. Sometimes when people aren't happy with who they are, they try to revert back to who they were. Needless to say, I started hunting high and low for a copy of Final Fantasy VII.

After many unsuccessful attempts at trying to find it in local video game stores, and knowing that a copy of Final Fantasy VII would cost an arm and a leg to get online, I asked a friend of mine to pirate it for me. Usually, I'm against pirating, but I needed to take a bump off of that sweet drug known as nostalgia. A week later, I got a call from my friend Todd.

"I found a copy of the game you wanted. I didn't get a chance to test it, but since I burned it to a disc, you'll have to play it on the Playstation 2."

Dammit! I had seen games that had been burned to discs, and they were usually iffy at best. Well, at least it was free. I went over to his apartment that night to pick it up.

When I came home, I noticed that he had the game burned to four discs. This was odd, as the Playstation copy of Final Fantasy VII had three discs. Why were there four? I was pretty sure Todd just downloaded the first program he could, not really checking into details like this. Not to mention, he wasn't the world's biggest Final Fantasy fan either.

"Remember, Michael, it's a free copy," I told myself, "maybe you lucked into a beta copy."

I popped it in, and I was surprised when I saw that the game was not only running, but running without any hiccups. Now THIS was a true gateway to my glory days. It was just as I remembered. I played for about two weeks and finally got to Nibelheim, the hometown of the game's protagonist, Cloud.

That's when everything went from being Final Fantasy VII and started becoming......I still don't even know what to call what happened.

There's a building in Nibelheim called the Shinra Mansion. Not only was it an important place in the main storyline, but it was also where you could recruit an optional party member (and my favorite Final Fantasy VII character): Vincent Valentine.

Normally, to recruit Vincent, you must go through these puzzles set up by a villain named Hojo, fight a boss in a safe, then earn an item called the Basement Key to unlock Vincent's hibernation chamber in the mansion's basement.

As soon as I walked into Shinra Mansion, there was an orb shaped like the Materia that you can pick up. But it wasn't blue, green, red, yellow, or purple like the other Materia in the game was. It wasn't even black like the Black Materia.

......It was.....it was grey.

That's never been a color of Materia that's existed in the game. Could this have been a beta feature that was left out of the original game? Curious, I picked up the Materia.

"Received BASEMENT KEY"

Holy shit! I was excited to see that, since it meant that I could get Vincent in my party without having to go through that safe combination bullshit. I had Cloud make a bee line to the basement, anxious to add one of the most intriguing Final Fantasy characters to my party.

As you get closer to Vincent's hibernation chamber, you will normally see his coffin, unlock the door, answer a series of questions, then he will join your party. Only this time, there was no coffin in the room.

Before I unlocked the door, I could see the Galian Beast, which was Vincent's first Limit Break transformation, thrashing about in the room. I had a bad feeling about this, but I went ahead and unlocked the door.

The beast charged at my party and a battle had begun.

Sure enough, on the enemies' side of the screen, was Vincent in his Level 1 Limit Break. Luckily, I had spent a lot of time building up Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris's Limit Break skills. Combined that with the fact that Vincent was lower level than the rest of us, it made this fight rather easy. After the battle ended, the party go no XP and no AP.

Now, after the fight, Vincent was kneeling on the ground, and he began his line of questioning that usually followed in the game. This time, instead of waiting until after the encounter with Sephiroth (the game's antagonist) in the mansion, he immediately joined the party.

The rest of the game continued as normal. The gameplay was just as I remembered, but I noticed that Vincent's Limit Break levels never raised. This was odd, considering the fact that I kept him in my party the entire time. Then, the party got to the City of the Ancients. I turned the game off and went to sleep. Since I had a week's paid vacation, I decided to spend it checking out this copy of the game, seeing just what had been changed from the original.

I woke up, brushed my teeth, made myself breakfast, and decided to skip a shower, since I wasn't planning on going anywhere and I was anxious to get back to reliving my youth through Final Fantasy VII.

Now, if you haven't ever played Final Fantasy VII, I'm going to warn you that there is a massive plot spoiler coming up here.

I resumed the game at the City of the Ancients, and got to one of the most memorable Final Fantasy moments; Aeris's death. As per usual, the PHS menu came up. Normally, you select your party members to go find Aeris, only to see her get stabbed at the hands of Sephiroth.

This time, though, Aeris was still in the party. In fact, I couldn't take her out of the party. I was looking through my party list to try and find Vincent. I figured I'd put in my most powerful party member (aside from Cloud) since I didn't know what to expect at this point.

But Vincent wasn't there........

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! Why was Vincent not in my party anymore? Was this a glitch perhaps? No, if it were a glitch, then I would be able to switch Aeris out of my party. I decided to take Tifa and Aeris with me, and went to where the end of Disc 1 would take place. The place where Aeris was originally supposed to die.

As I got the party closer to the alcove, on one of the platforms, Vincent's sprite was on the ground, bleeding. I tried to interact with him.

"VINCENT: Please.........do.....something."

I got to the alcove, and of course I didn't see Aeris there. Instead, I saw someone who had only remained a world map sprite in the game. Now, Dirge of Cerberus (a third person shooter with Vincent as the protagonist) had been out for a while, so I instantly recognized the person who was standing where Aeris' would normally be standing.

It was Lucrecia, still encased in crystal.

The cinema scene went on as it usually did, but instead of Cloud being too late to stop the death of Aeris, this time I saw Sephiroth drop down and stab Lucrecia.

Crystal shattered through her exit wound. Blood poured out of the whole in her crystal casing. The only change her face made when the blade hit was one single tear.

This time, the fight with Jenova LIFE started immediately. Instead of Aeris' death music, it was.....Vincent's theme that played during combat. Once I got Jenova LIFE down to ½ of its health, the party disappeared the way it did during a summon scene. Vincent then slowly dragged himself, his hand grabbing his left side, and went into his Galian Beast Limit Break, without a command to do it. Then, he used an ability that I had never seen anyone in the game use. The camera did a close up to Vincent, as if he were going to use one of his more powerful Limit Break moves. But this time, he used an attack called "JENOVA OSMOSIS". He then lunged onto Jenova LIFE and.....started absorbing it.

The party members in this fight (other than Vincent) got XP an AP. After the fight, I saw Vincent holding Lucrecia's crystallized body, the way Cloud would have held Aeris's in this moment in the game. Why would anybody make a version of the game that put Lucrecia in the role of martyr instead of Aeris? Wasn't Aeris the Last of the Ancients? Wasn't she the only one who could use Holy to stop Sephiroth?

As Vincent was holding Lucrecia, a new message popped up.

"Obtained IT'S YOUR FAULT"

....It's your fault?

There was never an item titles that in any Final Fantasy that I've ever played. After the battle, it was the essence of Jenova/Sephiroth telling Vincent that he was the true father.

The true father of who?

The game asked me to save before I switched discs. I did, and turned the game off. I wasn't sure what the fuck I just witnessed. I felt a morbid butterfly effect was going to occur in the game. The other two discs would probably have drastic changes since Aeris was still alive. I just wanted to go to sleep, deciding to resume in the morning.

Part 2

It was day two of this copy of Final Fantasy VII, if it could still even be called that at this point. The start of Disc 2 didn't start off with Cloud giving the party a "let's kick Sephiroth's ass" pep talk, but instead started with Vincent, still in one of the beds in the City of the Ancients. Aeris came over to his bed and kneeled beside it.

"AERIS: Hey, how are you feeling?"

"VINCENT: It's not the wound that hurts,"

"AERIS: I know that you loved her, but the pain will ease in time."

"VINCENT: Not as long as that bastard is out there. Only Hojo could create someone so cold that he would kill his own mother."

"AERIS: Rest up, Vincent. We'll leave tomorrow....

....I'm still so very sorry."

Aeris left the room, and now I had control over...Vincent. Cloud was standing at the exit to the bedroom, so I had Vincent talk to him.

"CLOUD: Ready to go?"

The options "yes" and "no" appeared. I selected "yes".

Now, I was in control of Cloud again. This time, Aeris and Vincent were in my party again. I decided to see what this item called IT'S YOUR FAULT DID. When I selected it, the cursor moved over to my three party members. I tried selecting Cloud.

"CLOUD: So much sadness......"

I tried selecting Aeris.

"AERIS: The poor guy....."

This was what I was afraid of. The messages popped up in the same way that they do when you try to give someone a Level 4 Limit Break that they can't use. But by what Aeris and Cloud said, I knew who this item was meant for. I selected Vincent, and was immediately taken to a boss fight.

It was like the Galian Beast fight, but this time he was in his Death Gigas Limit Break mode. Instead of boss fight music like the last fight with Vincent, this one had Vincent's Theme playing the entire fight.

This time, I didn't get a third party member to aid in the fight. Only Cloud and Aeris were there to fight the Death Gigas. As the theme kept playing, I could feel Vincent's pain and anguish as he fought. Was this the trigger for his Limit Break transformations? Not the experimentation that Hojo did, but his own suffering and misery? I couldn't help but let a tear run down my face. What a horrible thing....to see the one person you truly love......someone who encased herself in crystal for you...waiting for you to come back....what a horrible feeling to see that person die in front of your own eyes.

The fight was easy, just like the Galian Beast battle. When the battle was won, there was no XP or AP. Instead of going back to the main screen, the game went to the Limit Break screen. Now I finally had Vincent's Level 2 Limit Break. Disturbed by what I had seen, I decided to continue with the rest of the game. Would this entire world be changed by the fact that Aeris lived and Lucrecia died?

Surprisingly........no.

There was no change at all. The next three days were fairly routine. I was surprised about the lack of change, considering the fact that Vincent has a lot more of the plot revolving around him. He wasn't even an accessible party member after the events leading up to Cloud giving the Black Materia to Sephiroth so that he can summon Meteor. He just......disappeared from the party. Nobody said a word about him. The only other change that occurred was when I went to the City of the Ancients with Bugenhagen. The whole point of this was to see that Aeris died praying for Holy. This is where the party would realize that Sephiroth is holding down the spell.

But Aeris never prayed for Holy in this version.

Instead, when they got back to the altar, the White Materia was waiting for Aeris. She pulled it out, and prayed for the spell. The game went to the PHS, prompting me to pick a new party. Aeris, obviously, wasn't a selectable party member. I decided to go with Tifa and Cid. Aeris finally finished praying for Holy. But this time, the weirdest thing happened (as if enough weird shit wasn't already happening): Jenova DEATH fell from the sky as Sephiroth, Masamune in hand. It was a cutscene just like the one where Aeris was supposed to die.

But this time, all you could hear was a gunshot.

Jenova dropped the sword. And landed with a thud on the ground. Next thing you know, Vincent is in his Galian Beast form, absorbing this part of Jenova also. Why in the HELL was Vincent able to absorb Jenova parts? Then the cinema scene ended, and there was nothing but a black screen, with no sound. Finally, I heard the noise that you hear when you obtain an item.

"Obtained YOU'VE LET HER DOWN"

The game resumed, with Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Cid welcoming Vincent back to the party. But Vincent was less than thrilled to see Cloud.

"VINCENT: I came back here to see her....."

"...you let her die.

"CLOUD: VINCENT, I tried....."

Vincent's sprite swiped his cape out with his arm.

"VINCENT: NO, YOU DIDN'T!! You could have saved her!!!!"

Vincent turned his back.

"VINCENT: Just help me take her home."

There was a cutscene with the party taken the crystal chunk with Lucrecia onto the airship. When they got back on the ship, Vincent turned to Cloud.

"VINCENT: Holy won't be able to destroy Meteor as long as Sephiroth is alive."

I was given control over Cloud again. I decided to save and take a break. No telling what crazy shit was going to happen when I used YOU'VE LET HER DOWN.

Part 3

The next day, I resumed the game on the Airship. I immediately used YOU'VE LET HER DOWN on Vincent. As I expected, I had to fight the Hellmasker Limit Break. But this time, only Cloud was able to fight. Instead of the attack names that pop up when Vincent is in Limit Break mode, it alternated between "YOU CUOLD HAVE DONE SOMETHING" and "SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU". I won the fight. Afterwards, just like with the Death Gigas fight, I was greeted by the Limit Break screen, showing where the Hellmasker Limit Break now was. When I backed out of the menu, I was greeted by a black screen.

"VINCENT: I'll be going my own way once we get her home."

Seeing as how Disc 3 was about to come up, I decided to go ahead and go to Lucrecia's Cave. I didn't want Vincent to leave the party, but he would be rather far behind everyone else without his Ultimate Weapon or his Level 4 Limit Break.

I went to Lucrecia's Cave, where Cloud, Vincent, and Aeris placed Lucrecia in her usual spot in the game. At that point, Vincent went to the ground. Normally, he would flashback to how he became a monster, but I knew that this game was going to take me for a loop.

Instead. It showed Vincent practicing his combat skills. On the other side of the training room, behind a glass screen was Hojo and.....Grimoire Valentine.

What the FUCK was Vincent's father doing here? No mention of him was made until Dirge of Cerberus. And why was he there with Hojo?

"GRIMOIRE: His combat skills are top-notch."

"HOJO: Perhaps he could be used for the experimentation? He is a strong vessel. Perhaps he could handle Jenova cells."

Wait, in Dirge of Cerberus, wasn't Grimoire dead before the Jenova project started?

It cut to a scene with Grimoire and Lucrecia talking at the Shinra Mansion lab.

"GRIMOIRE: Perhaps you could do the procedure? You know he's taken quite a liking to you.

"LUCRECIA: It doesn't seem right, baiting the poor guy by using his feelings for me."

"GRIMOIRE: Sometimes we have to make these sacrifices for the sake of scientific advancement."

The next scene showed Vincent, on the operating table in the mansion's basement, with Lucrecia poking and prodding him with who-knows-what.

Vincent was in bed on one of the main floors of the mansion. Hojo and Grimoire walked in.

"GRIMOIRE: You're strength, reflexes, agility, and endurance are even better than they were before. The injecting of Jenova cells has really paid off."

"VINCENT: I feel better than ever."

"GRIMOIRE: That's good to hear son."

Grimoire left.

"HOJO: There is one last test I want to try...."

I now saw Vincent in what looked like an interrogation room, with Hojo viewing through a big glass window.

A red mist filled the room.

"VINCENT: What is this? What the hell??!?!"

"HOJO: These are augmented pheromones. They're going to increase your more......primitive....desires."

Hojo then started laughing as the mist cleared.

"HOJO: Bring in the next subject."

It now cut to one of the cutscenes with better graphics (like the one at the opening of the game or when Cloud first gets the motorcycle). Two armed guards shoved Lucrecia into the room. Vincent turned around to see her and paused. He then dashed toward her, and slapped her hard enough to knock her to the ground.

"Vincent......please.....stop........Vincent....WHY?!?!!?"

This dialogue in white text was all that was said while I watched in horror as Vincent then ripped Lucrecia's clothes off, followed by his own. And as he forced himself upon her, fulfilling every carnal desire he had, his body sporadically morphed. His face would occasionally grow a snout then revert back to normal. His ear would turn to that of a wolf's then revert back to normal. A red patch of hair along his spine would sprout up, then go away. When Vincent was finished with her, Grimoire sent the two guards in. They opened fire on Vincent, who was now partially in Galian Beast form. He fell to the floor unconscious. The game went back to the non-cinematic graphics.

"GRIMOIRE: HOJO, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!?!?"

"HOJO: I had to see exactly how much adrenaline was necessary to unlock physical changes in your son. I figured high-powered pheromones and the sight of his beloved would do it."

"But alas, he can't completely transform. This experiment is a failure. Kill the subject and the woman."

The guards aimed their guns.

"GRIMOIRE: No, stand down!!!"

They lowered their guns.

"GRIMOIRE: When I tell the President about what you've done, your career is finished."

Then three gun shots rang out. The guards fell, along with Grimoire.

"HOJO: Can't have that happening then."

Hojo lowered the gun.

"These two might prove useful. If I can alter him physically, surely I can alter her memories."

Hojo went to work prodding and poking an unconscious Lucrecia and Vincent. The next scene showed Hojo placing Vincent in the locked room where he is normally found in Disc 1. The scene froze, as did I after I read the white text that showed up.

"Hojo....darling....something wonderful has happened.....we're having a boy."

I lost my shit at this point. I stood up, breathing heavily into my cupped hands. While it was thought that Hojo was the father of Lucrecia's child.....it was Vincent. She was raped and.....Vincent...not Hojo.....was the father of Sephiroth.

The flashback ended.

"VINCENT: I know what I have to do now."

The screen faded out, and when it faded back in, Cloud was on the world map. I saved my game and turned the game off. Trying to wrap my head around all of this. No wonder Sephiroth became evil. No wonder Vincent felt he deserved to be locked in the basement. Although he wasn't in control of himself, Vincent felt the shame of having hurt and raped the woman he loved. All I could hear throughout the rest of the day is Vincent's theme running through my head. How could someone suffer through so much? The unintentional rape of the woman you love, watching her die at the hands of someone who you would find out is your own son. I wanted to cry, but was still too in shock after what I saw. What further horrors would I witness Vincent experience tomorrow? Did I even have the strength to find out?

Part 4

When I powered the game back on, it told me to switch to Disc 3.

Switch to Disc 3?

What about going back into Midgar? The final stand of Shinra? The fight with fucking Hojo? Those were all on Disc 2, and I still hadn't done them yet. Reluctantly, I popped in Disc 3. I was greeted with a picture of Vincent......as Chaos.

"Please insert the other Disc 3"

........The other Disc 3?

......The fourth disc that I received?

......I entered the fourth disc.

I was in control of Vincent, and I was in Lucrecia's cave. Hojo was on his knees, facing the crystallized Lucrecia.

"VINCENT: After everything you've done to her, to me......to us. After every abomination you created in the name of science. You deserve to die."

Vincent pointed a gun at the back of Hojo's head.

"But you have Jenova cells also."

Vincent's sprite then turned into a sprite of his Chaos Limit Break. He performed what I assume was his "Jenova Osmosis" move. Hojo disappeared.

"Obtained A SMALL SACRIFICE"

The screen then went to the Limit Break menu screen. As I had already known, Vincent had obtained Chaos. I exited the screen, as it went to black.

"VINCENT: After today, everything that has stood between us will be done with. Then we can be together."

The screen faded back in, and I moved Vincent to the door. Before he could exit, he was greeted by Cloud.

"CLOUD: Vincent, where the hell did that come from?"

"VINCENT: Where did what come from?"

"CLOUD: Transforming into a demon? Using a gun powerful enough to break the armor on the Sister Ray cannon? Single-handedly wiping out Shinra?!?!?!?!?"

"VINCENT: I got it from the same place you get your strength: Jenova cells."

"But while you let your cells manipulate you into endangering the world...."

"I use other Jenova cells to make me stronger."

Cloud walked in Vincent, joining (and I can't believe I'm saying it)......Vincent's party. Time to see what would happen with A SMALL SACRIFICE.....

I opened up the item menu and used it on Vincent.

"VINCENT: He caused this mess too."

I tried again.

"VINCENT: I'll need all the strength I can get."

All of these weird items have only worked on Vincent, why wouldn't this one work?

I tried one last time.

"VINCENT: He's the last one.....before him."

If Vincent could absorb Jenova cells and the life of those who possessed them in their bodies, then that meant.

I froze with fear.

No, surely not.

I moved the cursor to Cloud, and I was taken out of the menu.

I was greeted by another higher-quality cinema scene, this one showed Vincent cold-cock Cloud with Death Penalty. As Cloud fell back, Vincent drew quickly and put a bullet right through Cloud's head. Cloud lay lifeless on the cave's floor. My jaw dropped as I saw Vincent transform into Chaos and absorb Cloud. When his gruesome task was finished, there was a close-up of Cloud's Buster Sword landing on the floor.

I was given back control over Vincent after the cinema scene. Only this wasn't the Vincent sprite. This was Chaos that I was controlling. I exited the cave and flew straight for the Northern Crater. It was time to end it between Vincent and Sephiroth.

The challenge of going through the crater was eliminated, since Chaos could fly. Instead, Chaos slowed his wings' flapping and landed at Sephiroth's cocoon in the crater.

"VINCENT: You're the last of what poisons a world that Lucrecia and I could have been happy together in...."

"I don't find you fit to even consider thinking of you as my son."

Vincent reached his hand into Sephiroth's cocoon and absorbed his Jenova cells.

But Sephiroth didn't die.

"SEPHIROTH: It's the Lifestream that powers me now, not Mother,"

This initiated a battle.

Sephiroth was in his human form, as he is when Cloud fights him when he is in Cloud's mind. Vincent's Chaos form was bigger now, and had dragon-like facial features now. I also noticed that Vincent's name on the party member list was replaced with "CHAOS X".

Sephiroth hit Vincent with Omnislash, one of Cloud's Limit Breaks. It dropped me down to half of my health. Vincent then countered with a move called EVISCERATION OF CONSCIENCE.

It showed flashbacks of everything that had happened to Vincent, the wickedness that Vincent himself had caused. As these scenes were being cycled through in blindingly rapid order, the screen showing the scenes began to meld down into a set of gold claws that formed the exact shape of Chaos X's hands. Vincent then lunged at Sephiroth, digging into his body, ripping out organs, entrails, anything he could get his hands on. When the attack was done, Sephiroth's mangled corpse disappeared.

The victory menu showed up. I got no XP or AP. I did get one last unique item though.

"Obtained PERMANENT SOLUTION"

The game went back to Sephiroth's cocoon.

"VINCENT: Why is Holy not stopping Meteor? Isn't Sephiroth's evil aura gone now?

".....There must be another that's holding it down."

".....I have to do it, don't I?"

".....I'll at least see her one last time."

What did Vincent have left to do? Sephiroth was dead, why was this emotional roller coaster filled with heartbreak and turmoil not over? More than anything, I just wanted Vincent's suffering to be over. I was ready for this tragedy to be over.

As the game prompted, I went back to Lucrecia's cave.

"VINCENT: This will be the proper place to do it."

To do what?

Then, Tifa and Aeris ran through to cave entrance.

"TIFA: We found Cloud's sword in the cave, you bastard!"

"AERIS: We know what you did!!"

"TIFA: We'll kill you, you son of a bitch."

"VINCENT:...I don't blame you for hating me. I realize I'm just as twisted as Sephiroth is. But if this has to happen, I'd rather do it on my terms."

PERMANENT SOLUTION? Talking about seeing Lucrecia "one last time"? "This has to be done"?

Please, don't tell me Vincent is going to have to do what I think he is.

The item menu popped up. I didn't want to use PERMANENT SOLUTION. I had grown too attached to Vincent. At this point, I could feel every ounce of misery he had been through in his life. I wanted him to have another chance. Refusing, I backed out of the item menu.

"VINCENT: This has to be done."

I backed out again.

"VINCENT: The planet depends on this."

With a tear in my eye, I selected PERMANENT SOLUTION....and used it on Vincent.

Another cinema scene started. Tifa and Aeris were in the cave, staring at Vincent. Vincent had a single tear in his eyes, then turned to Lucrecia. He put one single bullet into the chamber of his pistol, put it to his chin, and pulled the trigger. The camera zoomed out to see him falling to the ground, blood flowing out of the back of his head, and even some spurting onto Lucrecia's crystal. This was the solution that I was afraid of: Vincent, having absorbed so many of Jenova's cells, and now Sephiroth's, was now the one blocking Holy. This was his last way to redeem himself, and his way of escape from the world that had relentlessly tortured him. The ending credits rolled. There was no post-credit cinema scene of Red XIII, just a frozen image of Vincent, before he was transformed into an experiment, holding hands with Lucrecia in a vast meadow.

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